Guide aims to prevent under-age sales of vaping products

The association, with the support of Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards, has published the Preventing Underage Sales Guide.

The guide covers current vaping age legislation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, use and best practice enforcement of the Challenge 25 rule, and dealing with the issue of proxy purchasing where an adult buys on behalf of someone under 18. It also advises on different forms of ID that can be accepted and methods of deception to be aware of, as well as points to consider with digital age verification.

Age verification requirements relating to staff training and online sales are both extensively covered in the guidance.

Jo Mahoney, senior trading standards officer at Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards, said: “Age verification is a challenging process for retailers, for example it can lead to situations of conflict between staff and customers, and many underage consumers know the tricks of the trade in order to purchase vape devices. There is also the added challenge of putting in place checks when products are delivered to the home.

“We have worked closely with the Youth Access Prevention team at the UKVIA to establish best practice guidance that will help retailers and their staff to be in the best position possible to deal with any attempts by underage people to purchase vape products.”

John Dunne, director at the UKVIA, added: “The legal age to buy vaping products is 18 and we want to keep it that way by making it as hard as possible for minors to get their hands on vaping devices and e-liquids. This guide is designed to ensure consistency and high standards across the industry when it comes to age verification.

“The sector has a legal responsibility to ensure vaping products don’t fall into the wrong hands. Whilst vaping amongst minors is low, we want to ensure we don’t leave any stone unturned.”

The guide can be viewed here.